Michael Chernus Is the Tinkerer in Spider-Man: Homecoming

Director Jon Watts is currently hard at work shooting Spider-Man: Homecoming in Atlanta, Georgia. He and star Tom Holland, along with some of the new cast, recently took a break to surprise fans with an appearance and footage at San Diego Comic-Con, which has everyone more excited than ever for Spidey to fully join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Peter Parker's first solo adventure in the MCU is already loaded down with talent, but a new villain has been added to the cast in the form of The Tinkerer.

Deadline is reporting that Orange is the New Black star Michael Chernus will be taking on the role of Phineus Mason, aka The Tinkerer in Spidermna: Homecoming. The report didn't come with a whole lot more information about the casting, but there have been persistent rumors that the character will be appearing in the movie, so this makes quite a bit of sense. Chernus will be joining up with Oscar winner Michael Keaton, who is playing the main villain Adrian Toomes, aka The Vulture.

The character of The Tinkerer is a superhuman level genius engineer, who makes advanced gadgets and weaponry from spare parts and other stuff that might otherwise be written off as junk. The character has a very long history with the character of Spider-Man, first appearing in The Amazing Spider-Man #2 in 1963. Coincidentally, The Vulture also made his first appearance in that particular comic book as well. So that might make for some good reading material at this point, Marvel fans. There have been rumors that in the script, The Tinkerer is the one who helps Toomes build his Vulture suit, so this new casting would seem to gel with that as well,

This new Spider-Man made his MCU debut in Captain America: Civil War, which has made over $1.1 billion since debuting in theaters this past May, and is currently the highest grossing movie of 2016 overall. Tom Holland is first brought into the superhero universe by Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark, who recruits him to be part of Team Iron Man for the amazing airport battle sequence in Civil War. Kevin Feige and the team at Marvel Studios had been working to get Spider-Man in the MCU for quite some time, and managed to strike a deal with Sony to make that happen. Based on the reaction to the character in Civil War, it is going very well so far, and that makes this first new Spidey solo movie all the more exciting.

We know that Homecoming is taking place mostly in a high school setting, and that the cast is absolutely massive. Michael Keaton will be playing the aforementioned Vulture, and he will be joined by Marisa Tomei as Aunt May, Martin Starr, Angourie Rice, Logan Marshall-Green, Donald Glover, Zendaya, Hannibal Buress and Tony Revolori, who will be playing Flash Thompson. Robert Downey Jr. is also set to appear as Tony Stark, but maybe not Iron Man, as he is reportedly taking on more of a mentor's role in the movie. Not only that, but there have even been rumors that Scarlett Johansson may be appearing as Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff.

With a cast that large, it is maybe a little bit worrying that the production has added yet another cast member, but the idea of The Tinkerer being in the movie is exciting. This movie has a lot to accomplish, and the last thing anyone wants is for it to turn into Spider-Man 3 all over again. Spider-Man: Homecoming is set for release on July 7, 2017.